“You don’t need a new plan for next year. You need commitment.”
Dan Waldschmidt, author of EDGY Conversations
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We’re always available for customers. For problems. For emergencies. But we’re almost never available for strategy.
Strategic debt
When a company doesn’t stop, it shows. It’s not immediately visible in the accounts, but it’s visible where the work happens.
It shows in the tasks that infest our days like weeds. In the inconsistency of decisions made “on the spot.” In the “zombie” projects that never truly die.
This is Strategic Debt . And just like financial debt, it accumulates compound interest every day.
Continuing to work in business without ever stopping to work on the business is not something to be proud of. It’s negligence.
We are “too busy”
Being constantly in a rush is the perfect refuge . It’s a way to hide from the hard work. It avoids the emotional labor of making irreversible decisions.
Are you afraid to stop? I can assure you that unless you work in an emergency room, nothing will happen. The market will wait.
But if you don’t stop, the market will stop you. And it won’t do it by sending you a link to a Zoom call that you can crash.
Closed for strategy
We all accept the “Closed for Holidays” sign. We know people need to recharge to avoid burning out. But what about the company?
Imagine hanging a different sign outside your door (or in your Out of Office email): “Closed for Strategy.”
It’s not a spiritual retreat. Nor a tug-of-war or a cooking class with your colleagues.
It’s the hardest and most important work you can do.
It’s time to detox your team from the dopamine of emergencies to:
- Free up time: Eliminate sunk costs and projects you no longer need.
- Simplify: Make the direction understandable to everyone.
- Align: Make sure we’re all playing the same game.
Vacations recharge people physically.
The strategy recharges the company structurally.
There is nothing more exhausting for a team than working hard without understanding why .
Choose to stop, strategically
If we demand the right to personal rest, we must demand with the same intensity the duty of strategic clarity.
Just 1 hour a week, not a day.
But you need the right tools to avoid turning the break into another inconclusive meeting.
Start from here. From owning (and reading) our operating manual.
It’s not divided into chapters, but into weeks. It’ll be on your desk in less than 48 hours. Meanwhile, you’ll have access to all the tools in our OKR Toolkit.
But what happens when you implement MAKE PROGRESS®, week after week?
MAKE PROGRESS with OKRs is not a book to simply read.
It’s a week-by-week guide to installing this new operating system in your company.
Weeks 1-9: The strategy finally becomes visible. Weeks 10-12: Teams discover where the company is going and begin to contribute. Weeks 13-16: The organization finds its natural rhythm and systematically removes any obstacles to progress.
I wrote this case study , it explains everything to you in detail.
Ridiculous to stop now?
Right now. During Black Friday. While the last quarter is being closed. In fact, you don’t have to.
Instead, open your calendar. Mark with a red X the exact times you’ll pause to work on your strategy. Protect them as you would your long-awaited vacation, your vacation from chaos .
Because if strategy isn’t in your calendar, it will never be in your company .
ALWAYS MAKE PROGRESS ●↑
Antonio
